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This Mom Pulled off the Present of a Lifetime After a Christmas Eve Mix-Up Left Her High and Dry

This Mom Pulled off the Present of a Lifetime After a Christmas Eve Mix-Up Left Her High and Dry

Let's just say he's furry, and she took four flights to get him here.

By
Marianne Garvey

Monica Chimes knows a lot when it comes to busines — she runs her own flower shop in West Harrison, New York, and handles about a million problems a day. Those skills came in handy when she was caught in a last-minute snafu over a Christmas gift she’d hinted about to her daughters, Gigi, 6, and Brianna, 10. They'd been begging her and her police officer husband for a Lilac French Bulldog, an extremely rare breed, with light-colored eyes and a distinct silver coat.

She’d started doing research months earlier, lined up a respected breeder in Arkansas, and counted down the days until his birth and when he would be arriving in New York. The family’s bulldog, Dude, died in August and she wanted her girls to have another furry friend.

“Gigi had asked Santa for that Frenchie, very specific. I kept telling her, 'Don't worry, we’ll get one,' but I didn’t say when,” Monica said. “I ended up putting a deposit down with a breeder I liked in Arkansas in early November.”

Thinking the little guy had plenty of time to make his way here by Christmas Eve, she checked in occasionally to make sure everything was on track.

But, you know, life. She faced major problems at the 11th hour. The breeder had hired a woman from a company that will fly a pet with a “nanny handler” to its destination for a fee. But unfortunately, the woman ran into some issues while traveling.

“The nanny kept saying it’s going to be hard during the holidays, because they only fly stand-by to keep their costs down,” Monica explained.

The dog was scheduled to arrive the afternoon of December 22, but due to the nanny not meeting the dog on time, his arrival time to New York was then pushed to December 23. Then the nanny again missed the flight options.

However, Monica was determined to get the dog for her girls, but she was due with her family at her parents' house on Christmas Eve for dinner at 6:30.

So what did she do? Got on the damn flight(s) herself. The night before Christmas Eve, she hopped on a flight from New York to Chicago, where she met a connecting flight to Charlotte, then another to Arkansas. Then she did it on the way back home (with the dog of course!). He snuggled on her lap the entire way. She was back home by Christmas Eve morning.

Anyway, now you’ve gotta watch the video of what happened when she had a friend drop the dog at her front door and do a ring and run on Christmas morning. It’ll warm the coldest of hearts.

FYI, they named him Buddy and he pooped under the Christmas tree that day. Welcome home, Buddy.

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